


Sonder

by ErrorUnknownUser



Category: South Park
Genre: Barbarian Tweek Tweak, Fantasy AU, Kidnapping, M/M, Thief Craig Tucker
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-03
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-14 05:15:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29165565
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ErrorUnknownUser/pseuds/ErrorUnknownUser
Summary: Thief Craig Tucker is tasked with a mission to retrieve a stolen necklace from the barbarian king Tweek Tweak. Craig plans his mission thoughtfully but when it comes time for execution things go very wrong. What starts as an easy mission ends with the barbarians taking Craig captive.
Relationships: Craig Tucker/Tweek Tweak
Comments: 3
Kudos: 27





	Sonder

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to my new Creek fic! This is a special request from my best friend that I'm more than happy to hash out. This will be a shorter fic. Maybe around 20-30k words. (Unless I get carried away). Hopefully the characters aren't to OOC, I just pictured their personalities to be shifted quite a bit with the burdens their character roles give them. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this!

Craig Tucker knew what he was doing. He was a skilled and experienced thief after all. When he had been approached by Sir Hixon and asked to retrieve his late wife’s heirloom from the barbarians Craig figured it’d be an easy job. Sneak in, make the switch, sneak out. It had been rumored the infamous necklace was being worn by the barbarian king himself. He was told the necklace was made of white crystals with a decently sized peridot hanging from the middle. 

Why a barbarian king would choose to wear such a fine piece of jewelry was beyond Craig. 

Craig did his homework. He found out where the barbarians were traveling. He was informed of what this king looked like. He prepared his dual blades to be ready for combat, should it come to that. He had the alchemist’s sleeping powder that would render the barbarian king useless. Now all he had to do was play his cards right and retrieve the necklace. 

  


Craig made his way to the marketplace on the edge of the kingdom that the barbarians were rumored to stop by today. The barbarians didn’t often meld themselves with outside territories, as they were a nomadic group, but they still made the trip to markets on occasions. Craig pulled the hood of his cape up over his hat and busied himself at a stand selling notebooks as he waited. 

Much to Craig’s relief he didn’t have to wait very long. A large group of barbarians, clad in furs and jewelry adorned with animal’s teeth, walked into the market as a group. It wasn’t hard to spot the king and the necklace that was his target. The king was hardly a man, probably in his early twenties as was Craig. The king had wild blonde hair that stuck up in every which direction. Crazed green eyes darted around the market, taking in everything around him. Skin lightly tanned from the endless hours under the sun. The oddity to this king, though, was how he twitched every so often. 

The band of barbarians trudged past Craig and he turned his back to the group as they passed. The king was leading the group from the front and now the hard part would be getting the king alone so that Craig could drug him and retrieve the necklace. Once the group passed Craig turned and trailed after them from a distance. 

Craig watched as the barbarians split up in groups of two or three to tackle their different tasks around the market. The king himself was flanked by two, what Craig assumed to be, guards. This would make things trickier. 

The king stopped at a stand for herbs and spices. Even from the distance he was at he could hear the king speak. 

“Ngh! I n-need some chamomile and e-enchinacea. P-Please.” 

This struck Craig as peculiar. Last he knew the barbarians spoke their own language. He wasn’t aware any of them spoke the common tongue. The woman at the stand retrieved the herbs for the king and handed them over in a small pouch. One of the guards handed over the needed currency to pay for what they bought. With what they needed in hand they carried on with their trip. 

Craig watches this go on for several more stands before he gets his opportunity. After the forth stop the king steps down an alley by himself while his guards finish up the transaction. This strikes Craig as odd but he shrugs it off and continues with what needs to be done. Craig trails after the king down the alley. He pulls out the sleeping powder and once he gets close enough to the king he calls out. 

“Hey you!” 

The king swivels around startled. He looks at Craig with wide eyes but Craig wastes no time lifting the packet of powder and blowing it in the king’s face. Except it doesn’t go as planned. The king ducks and the powder billows out over his head. The king pinches his nose and keeps his mouth sealed as the powder dissipates and renders itself useless. 

Craig curses and pulls out his blades, readying himself for combat. He gets as far as holding his knives up and facing the king who is staring at him with wide green eyes before he’s stopped. He feels something hard hit the back of his head. As the world fades out of existence he sees six barbarians dart into view to apprehend him. His last thought is, _damn I’m screwed._

  


When Craig wakes up he doesn’t recognize his surroundings. The first thing he does realize is that his wrists and ankles are bound. He blinks slowly and turns his head to take in as much of his surroundings as possible. He sees the outline of the dark forest around him. He sees a fire burning in the night next to him. There’s another fire twenty or so feet away where barbarians sit talking animatedly in their own tongue while eating meat. 

Craig curses under his breath and then there’s movement in front of him. The blonde king crouches down in front of him with a curious smile. Craig is thrown off by the smile and instantly takes it to be sinister. After all, what would the barbarians do to him? Eat him? Sell him into slavery? Craig eyes the king up and down, taking note of that damned necklace around his throat. 

“You’re a-awake,” the king states simply. 

“No shit,” Craig growls. The king frowns and sits down crossed legged. 

“Why w-were you following m-me?” 

“Why do you speak the common tongue?” Craig counters, not wanting to answer any of the king’s questions. 

“It’s my n-native language.” 

“But you’re a barbarian.” 

“I a-am now. I wasn’t a-always,” the king explains cryptically. Craig wonders how the hell a non-barbarian could possibly fall into the role of their king. “N-now, why were y-you following me?” 

“Where did you get that necklace?” 

The king frowns and looks down at the crystals hanging from his neck. He picks it up between two fingers and rubs the peridot slowly. He drops it and looks up at Craig with a puzzled expression. “It was g-given to me after we saved a w-woman’s life.” 

“Bullshit,” Craig spat. “You stole it.”

The king gasps and looks offended. He stands up and stares down at Craig. 

“I w-would never. I was g-going to give you f-food, but for that y-you can starve.” The king turns and walks away leaving Craig frustrated and hating life.

  


The next time the king speaks to him is the next day late in the evening. By now they’ve traveled by horseback due west, heading god knows where. Craig rued the day he’d have to find a way home. The barbarians made him walk behind the horses, wrists bound but legs free. He was chained to a horse and didn’t have any luck escaping. His knives were long gone and the binds on his wrists were impossible to break. 

It was during supper that the king approached him. Craig had thankfully been given dinner of meat crudely seasoned. He ate with bound hands and feet next to a fire but he desperately needed the energy after a long day of walking. The king ambled over to him and sat down across from him by the fire. Craig watched cautiously as the king pulled off his fur cloak and sat it to the side, revealing a wiry chest riddled with scars. 

“How a-are you?” The king asks surprisingly politely. Craig scowls and takes a large bite, tearing it off with his teeth, as he ignores the question. Once it becomes evident Craig has no desire to reply the king speaks again. “T-This will be easier f-for you in the long run i-if you answer my questions.” 

“I’m peachy. What do you want?” Craig snaps harshly. The king frowns but seems to shrug it off. 

“I want t-to know why y-you were following m-me.” 

“What do I get for telling you? Are you going to release me?” 

“Possibly,” the king says slowly. 

“I was hired to retrieve that necklace you stole. Someone wants it back, and badly.” Craig’s words make the king’s frown deepen. He touches the necklace and looks down at the ground. 

“It w-was not stolen. Her n-name was Esmeralda H-Hixon. She was cornered by a m-mountain lion when in the forest. My people killed the l-lion and saved her. She had no money t-to give me in thanks so s-she gave me this. She i-insisted I take it.” This time it was Craig’s turn to frown. This king had the name right, and his story was possible. But that didn’t explain why the husband claimed the necklace was stolen. Why he was so desperate to get it back. 

“That’s not was Sir Hixon said.” 

“T-Tell me, what did h-he say?” 

“That it was stolen.” Craig takes a lazy bite of the meat as the king frowned thoughtfully. 

“Jesus christ m-man! I h-have many witnesses to m-my story. But I’m g-guessing that’d p-prove nothing to you,” the king explains sadly. He actually seemed disturbed to be called out as a thief. Craig didn’t understand why it mattered so much to him. 

“Nope. It’s easy to tell your people to lie.” 

“It i-is not the barbarian way to lie. It is viewed a-as sinful. We h-honor ourselves for b-being truthful and good.” Craig snorts and shakes his head. 

“Your people have a funny way of showing that.” 

“Says t-the thief,” the king says with a coy smile. His words make Craig scowl. “What i-is your name?” 

“Feldspar, but people call me Craig.” The king smiles wholesomely. 

“I’m T-Tweek. Now rest. We h-have another day of t-traveling tomorrow.” The king rises and walks away leaving Craig to himself. He frowns but continues eating as he replays their conversation in his head. 

  


The next day they travel further west. Once again Craig followed behind a horse, with his hands bound and legs free. They traveled for hours and by the time the sun began to set in the west they finally stopped. It was much of the same routine as the day before. Barbarians set up fires and began roasting the meat they had. A group of barbarians set out to hunt and another group set out to gather water. Craig was left deposited next to a fire with his legs bound once again. A barbarian at least gave him a water skin filled with the gracious liquid and for that Craig was glad. 

From afar Craig watched the king, Tweek, interact with his people. They spoke in their language so Craig could not understand them but he could see how they interacted. The barbarians would come to Tweek and ask him questions to which Tweek would reply animatedly. The answers always left his people with wide grins and a skip to their step as they turned and got to work. 

A while later someone brought Craig a hunk of meat that he graciously dug into. The barbarians ate a small breakfast of bread and then nothing else until supper. It was a schedule Craig disliked. He was used to three moderately sized meals a day. Craig was in the middle of eating when Tweek gave him a visit once again. Although this time the king had his own slab of meat that he was eating.

Tweek sat down next to Craig and ate in silence. It wasn’t until he finished eating did he talk.

“Ngh! We are a d-days travel from m-my land and people.”

“I thought these were all your people,” Craig said simply. He was under the impression barbarians were a nomadic group. 

“Do y-you see women and c-children?” Craig shook his head. “This is n-not all of my people. A group o-of us will travel to h-hunt. Then we will t-take our winnings h-home to our people and stay t-there for a while until we n-need more meat. Then we t-travel once again,” Tweek explained. 

“Where is your land located?” Craig asked hopefully, hoping for some clues on his whereabouts. 

“You w-will see.” 

A question sparked inside Craig’s mind and he couldn’t fight his curiosity. “You said you weren’t always a barbarian. Where were you from, originally?” 

Tweek hesitates to answer his question. After a moment his resolve melts and he complies. “I was f-from Kupa Keep. My p-parents sold me into slavery b-but I escaped and ran. I ran i-into the barbarians and incidentally f-fell into the roll as their new king.” 

“How did that happen?” 

This time Tweek does not hesitate. He has a faraway look in his eye as he seems to be reliving memories. “I ran into a g-group of barbarians. One of t-them attacked m-me. I didn’t know w-what to do so I fought b-back and killed him. Turns out h-he was the king and in barbarian culture if y-you kill the king you take o-over as the new king.” 

Craig hummed actually feeling moderately impressed. This wiry man killed a barbarian king? He couldn’t help but wonder how Tweek managed that feat. 

“How long ago was that?” 

“Five y-years ago.” 

Craig gasped. “But you were only a teenager!” 

“I was f-fifteen,” Tweek tells Craig. Craig gapes at the twitchy blonde next to him. He couldn’t help but see the king in a whole new light. Who exactly was this man? 

“So you’re telling me, you’ve been leading the barbarians since you were fifteen?” 

“Ngh! Y-Yes man. J-Jesus. I d-didn’t want to. But they just s-started following me around everywhere and d-doing everything I told them to d-do. They wouldn’t leave m-me alone m-man!” 

Craig whistles and leans back against the log behind him. Well I’ll be damned.

“I s-should be going. S-Sleep well, Craig,” Tweek says gently as he stands. He wore a shy smile as he looked down upon Craig. The look on Tweek’s face struck a chord in Craig. He didn’t know if it was the freshly learned information about the king, or something else, but something about the king appealed to him. There was something about him that was alluring. 

“Okay dude. I’ll see you later,” Craig says casually, as if he wasn’t speaking to his captor. 

  


Craig didn’t know what to expect of the barbarian’s land but this wasn’t it. They arrived to a cliff side where huts were built against the wall. There were a countless number of them. Bones and skulls decorated the expanse of land along with rocks and crystals. One large cave sat in the middle of all the dwellings. Barbarians of all shapes and sizes littered about. They wore furs and leathers and primitive jewelry. 

Even the vegetation was different here. The flora was larger and leafier. Seemingly full of more life. Craig was thrown off to see three kids running alongside a wolf as they played with it happily. His own people had yet to domesticate the fine beasts. The barbarians all but stared at Craig as he was paraded through the masses. They spoke in their foreign language and some even openly pointed at him. With Craig’s dark hair he did stand out in contrast to the barbarian’s lighter shades of hair. It was as if the sun bleached everything about them except their tanned skin. 

Craig was led to the large cave which he discovered to be a meeting room of sorts for the people. There were boulders set up as chairs and tables scattered about. People sat around, some eating and drinking. The barbarian leading Craig brought him to a table. The hulk of a man crouched down and bound Craig’s ankles before grunting and moving away. 

Craig sighed and leaned his elbow against the table and waited. He really was clueless as to what these barbarians could want from him. What use could they possibly get from him? 

Craig didn’t have to wait long until he’s approached. A curvy woman with a mess of blonde curls ambles over to him and sits across from him. She carries two large wooden cups of some foreign liquid. She wears a kind smile and Craig sighs expecting a language barrier, so he’s surprised when she speaks and he can understand her. 

“You are the thief, yes?” She asks slowly, enunciating every syllable. 

“You speak the common tongue?” Craig questions startled. The woman’s smile broadens as she nods. 

“Our king has taught many of our people. It is a useful skill to have in this world.” 

“Then yes, I’m the thief. My name is Craig.” He finds himself saying. He doesn’t know why he’s speaking so openly to her. But after a few days of mostly isolation a gentle visage was a welcome sight.

“Our people call me Bebe,” the woman says kindly. 

“Bebe?” Craig tests the foreign name on his tongue. The woman nods and holds out a cup towards Craig. Craig carefully takes a hold of it, which is a struggle with bound wrists. He lifts the cup and takes a large swallow, honestly expecting water. He nearly spits out the sour tasting liquid. He winces at the burn he feels in his throat. “What is this?!” 

“It is yoshnir. Your people would call it ale.” Craig stares at Bebe incredulously. 

“So you gave me alcohol? I thought I’m supposed to be your guys prisoner! Who gives the prisoner alcohol?” Not that Craig was complaining. After the last few days he’d happily welcome the warm buzz that came with spirits. 

“We are not a harsh people Craig. We do not mean others harm.” Bebe says with a sad smile. 

“Does your king know you’re giving me alcohol?” 

“It was his idea. He suggests you need break. Are you hungry, Craig?” As if on cue his stomach growls much to his embarrassment. Bebe simply giggles at the action and stands. She pushes her cup across to Craig which she has not drank from. “Finish my drink. I’ll be back.” 

Craig watches her go. He’s not particularly looking forward to a meal of just meat. He wonders how these people get by on a diet of simply protein with the occasional bread. Craig observes the foreign people around him. They’re nuances were so similar yet different from his own people. He couldn’t help but think of all the rumors and stories told about the barbarians. He was starting to think they were simply that - rumors. Stories made up out of fear of people they did not understand. While they kept Craig restrained they had at least fed him and had not hurt him. The rumors would have spoke of much harsher treatment. 

Craig finishes his drink as he gets used to the flavor about half way through the large cup. He’s just started on his second glass when Bebe returns with two wooden plates full of food. Craig is delighted to see that yes there is meat, but there is also a potato, a bun, and some mashed creation. Bebe deposits the plates and retakes her seat. Craig digs into the potato first, having missed some form of vegetables. 

Bebe smiles at him and starts eating, although much slower. They eat in a silence that for once doesn’t bother Craig. He saves the mashed concoction for last and when he scoops his fingers into it to try it he nearly gags at the taste. It was crunchy and gritty. It was unlike any flavor he’s ever tried before. He fights the urge to spit it out and forces it down his throat, chasing it with three large gulps of yoshnir. 

“What the hell is that?” Craig asks, pointing at the cursed food. Bebe smiles and dips her own fingers into the creation and licks them off happily. Once finished she looks at Craig and speaks. 

“We call it agnar. It is mashed… what do you call it… crickets?” Craig gags at Bebe’s words and takes a few more swallows of the ale. He could hardly believe he just tried bugs. His people did not eat bugs. Now that, to Craig, was simply barbaric. 

“Your people are insane.” Bebe’s musical laughter fills the silence. Suddenly Craig snaps his eyes to the drink and he pales. It occurs to him he has no idea what the drink is made from. It’s obviously fermented something, but what? “What is this… yoshnar made of?”

“Yoshnir,” Bebe corrects. “It’s made from the gojul berries that grow rampant around these parts.” 

“Gojul berries are g-gooseberries.” Tweek’s sudden voice says from behind Craig. He twists around to look at the blonde who is carrying his own mug and plate. Tweek sits down on the seat next to Craig. “They’re s-sour but they do the j-job, ngh.” 

“Oh, that’s not too bad.” 

“I t-take it you didn’t like the a-agnar?” Tweek says with a sly smile. As if to prove a point he dips his fingers in the mash and slurps it up. Craig shudders and shakes his head. He takes another drink out of his cup and is disappointed to find that it’s empty. 

“How can you eat that shit?” 

“What is sheet?” Bebe asks innocently. Tweek snorts and shakes his head, sending his wild blonde hair bouncing. Craig watches mystified as Tweek switches to their barbaric language and says something to the curly haired female. Her mouth forms a small ‘o’ as she seems to gain apprehension on the curse word. “This shit is very good,” Bebe says coyly. 

Craig chuckles before he can stop himself. Once he realizes what he’s doing he stops abruptly and stares down at his nearly empty plate. He had to remind himself he was a prisoner here. It was not a time to let his guard down. He was not here of his own accord and it was imperative that he remembered that. 

“Do you need more yoshnir?” Bebe asks Craig. Craig considers saying yes but after a moment he realizes he can’t let his guard down. If he wanted to escape he had to be on top of his game. He couldn’t be drunk, no matter how desirable that sounded. Craig shakes his head no and Bebe frowns but accepts his answer. 

“What do y-you think of A-Ayelios?” Tweek asks. After a moment he adds. “Ayelios is w-what we call t-this land.” 

“It’s… unique,” Craig says slowly. He didn’t want to offend anyone. While the barbarians hadn’t been cruel to him so far he didn’t want to risk pissing them off and unleashing their wrath. 

“It t-took me a while to get u-used to. Ngh! All the b-bones used to scare m-me but now it f-feels normal to me,” Tweek explained with a shy smile.A harsh twitch ran through him and he scowled as he seemed to momentarily lose control of his body. Craig vaguely wondered what made Tweek the way he was. He was obviously different from everyone else. “After f-five years it just f-feels like home.” 

Craig couldn’t imagine such a savage surroundings feeling like home, but to each their own he supposed. 

  


That night Craig is brought to a simple hut to sleep in. After sleeping under the stars for several nights he welcomes four walls and a roof gratefully. He sleeps on a thick coating of furs with a thinner fur pulled over his body as a blanket. It’s the best sleep he’s gotten in days. Craig of course takes the time to assess his surroundings but he’s still bound tightly and barbarians are posted guard outside his hut. 

The next morning he is woken up early by a woman who speaks the common tongue. She tells Craig that today he will be foraging with the women. They feed Craig a small breakfast and then his ankles are unbound and he’s led into the forest. They walk quite a ways until they reach a vast field riddled with bushes full of berries. Craig is slightly startled when one woman comes up to Craig and unties the ropes binding his wrists. 

Craig stares at her dumbly and looks down at his wrists stupendously. 

“Aren’t you afraid I’ll run?” The woman smirks and produces a knife out of god knows where. Like really, Craig was clueless as to where she pulled it out from. She was wearing tight leather pants and a tube top made of furs. 

“You run, I flay you,” the woman hisses sadistically. Craig swallows thickly and nods. Point taken. He didn’t doubt this woman for one second. 

Craig is handed a basket and instructed to start picking berries so he does exactly that. He suspects it to be easy menial work but he’s sorely mistaken. After a period of time his knees ache from crouching for so long. He’s pricked his fingers so many times on the thorns that his fingers are swollen and throbbing and his fingers are cramping from such precise movement. 

After two hours he wants to beg to stop. But all the woman and children around him carry on simply as if the work was simple. Craig shakes his head and wonders how they do it. He decides to no longer look down on such work. 

  


After probably a good six hours of foraging they finally finish. By now Craig has filled up two large baskets and his stomach is growling from hunger. He expects to be bound again but the woman who untied him simply looks at him and tells him to carry his own baskets. Craig does as told and they make the journey back to Ayelios. When they arrive back at camp he notices a chunk of the men are gone and he assumes they’ve disappeared to go hunting. Some of the older women are hunched over fires roasting full sized boars while others mash what Craig assumes to be bugs in large bowls. 

Craig notices Bebe surrounded by a group of the smaller children. She has a chalkboard in front of her and she’s writing in the common tongue. He guesses she’s teaching him the language. He can’t help but be impressed. 

Craig follows the women into a large hut where they deposit the baskets they’re carrying. Once again he waits to be bound but instead the women disregard him and walk past him, even the woman who had threatened him. Feeling dumbfounded Craig exits the hut and stands off to the side as he watches everyone work. Everyone was so in tune with the motions that Craig felt stupid for simply standing there. 

He notices movement to his left and he glances over to see the barbarian king himself ambling over towards him. He comes to a stop a few feet away from him and Craig waits to be lectured on his freed wrists and ankles. Instead the king smiles and points at Bebe teaching the children. 

“I-I’ve been trying to slightly modernize o-our people. I don’t w-want to lose our culture but we could use s-some updating.” Tweek explained with a small smile. 

Craig observes Tweek for a long moment before he finally tears his gaze away. He glances back at the blonde woman and flock of children. 

“It sounds like you’re doing these people lots of good,” Craig finally admits honestly. At that moment he sees the men ride into camp with the days winnings. Craig notices they’re carrying swords instead of the clubs he thought barbarians used. Tweek, following his gaze, comments on it. 

“Another thing w-we’ve modernized. Clubs aren’t a-as effective as s-swords. Swords do a l-lot more damage. J-Jesus christ!” A violent twitch runs through Tweek and the blonde grimaces as his body stills. 

“I see… It sounds like your people were quite a bit different before you came along.” 

“I g-guess so. Honestly I tried doing e-everything I could to s-stop being king. No m-matter what I did they w-wouldn’t change their ways. The only way I c-could get out of being king was i-if someone killed me and t-took over. And well… I didn’t w-want to die. So once I a-accepted my new role I did e-everything I could to be good a-at it. Tried t-to at least.”

Craig stared speechless. He realized one thing. Tweek, the barbarian king, was an enigma. He killed to gain the position he was in yet had no desire for the power he obtained from it. He came from the same land as Craig yet five years later led a people completely different from his own. His people exonerated power and confidence yet the king was soft spoken and kind. The king was full of contradictions and was a puzzle for Craig to solve. 

“Well,” Craig cleared his throat. “I think you’re succeeding.” Tweek looks up at the noirette through his bangs. His gaze is shy and nervous. A smile tugs at his rosy lips as his cheeks color slightly. 

“T-Thank you. Would you l-like to see our people’s h-history?” 

Craig frowns but nods. He follows Tweek as the blonde picks up a large thick branch and lights it in one of the fires. He leads Craig into the communal cave and further back where it’s dark. The caver narrows until it’s no longer an area with vaulted ceilings with wide reach but instead a narrow pathway. It leads to a slightly larger bubble of a space that takes Craig’s breath away. 

The walls are covered in paintings. Every inch of the cave wall is painted. He sees images of the barbarians. He sees horses and other animals. Of plant life. There’s even images of the sun, moon and stars. The details were so fine and precise that he was left feeling impressed. It takes Craig’s breath away. He lets his eyes roam over all of the images for a few minutes. After he finally feels like he’s seen them all he tears his gaze away and glances at the king. 

Craig is surprised to see that Tweek isn’t looking at the paintings but rather staring at him with a smile. He appeared to be proud to be sharing this part of his people’s history. Craig struggles to find the words to say. Tweek’s green gaze left him with a tight chest. He didn’t know if it was from Tweek or the beautiful art but one of the two was leaving him breathless. 

“W-What do you think?” The king asks softly. Craig gulps and nods. 

“It’s beautiful. I’m impressed.” 

“W-What, didn’t think such b-barbaric people could make such f-fine art?” Tweek’s face is serious and Craig scrambles for an answer. 

“What- no! I- uh.” 

“I’m k-kidding,” Tweek grins and Craig sighs in relief. He can’t help but smirk at the king’s antics. 

“You can be cheeky, can’t you?” Craig questions with a sly grin. 

Tweek shyly tucks a strand of hair behind is ear. “O-Only on occasion.” Tweek turns to the paintings and starts telling Craig their elaborate history and folklore. The stories are so unlike the ones Craig grew up hearing he’s full of intrigue and holds onto every word. 

They converse for what has to be a couple of hours. The first part of their conversation consisted of the tribe’s history but before they progressed onto their childhoods. Tweek spoke of growing up as the son of bakers but when their family business fell through he was sold to slavery. Craig speaks of living with family who worked as blacksmiths. He tells Tweek about how when he was sixteen he ran away from home to pursue his own adventures. He traveled for a while but while having no means to support himself he turned to stealing. Once he realized he was actually good at it he made a career of it. 

They only stop talking once both their stomachs start growling loudly. It’s past dinner time now and together they exit the back of the cave and put out their torch. Tweek shows Craig where they get served a plate of food and mug full of yoshnir by the elder women. They sit down at a table in the communal room and talk as they eat. Craig elects not to eat the bugs but he finds himself actually starting to enjoy the rest of the food. 

Yesterday he had be too cautious to drink much but today he finds himself feeling lighter and more carefree. The king had shown himself to be not all that bad of a person. Craig actually found himself lowering his guards and he wasn’t actually against it. He wouldn’t go as far to say that he trusted Tweek but he had faith that he wasn’t about to be killed in his sleep or anything. 

“What do you mean you’ve never seen the ocean?” Craig asks baffled. By now he’s had so many cups of ale that he’s lost track. His head is a little fuzzy and the world sways slightly if he turns his head to quickly. 

Tweek, who sits across from him, giggles slightly. “I h-haven’t traveled much m-man! Besides from here to a f-few trading outposts. And I never t-traveled as a kid.” 

“Well that’s just shameful. There’s nothing like seeing the ocean. First time I saw it I was pretty much speechless.” Tweek hums and leans his head against his hand. He takes a large swig of yoshnir and Craig mimics him. 

At this point the children of the village have gone to bed and all that remains are the adults. Torches are placed around the communal room to give enough lighting in the cave. Craig sees movement to his right and he glances over in time to watch a myriad of barbarians walk into the room carrying what seemed to be instruments. A few men carry large drums. A woman carries bells while another woman carries a flute made from bone. They sit in a circle and two women and a man sit in the center, void of instruments. 

Craig glances at Tweek confused but the blonde is smiling softly while staring at his people. The men began pounding on the drums to an idiosyncratic beat. After several moments of this the bells join in followed by the flute. The music is unlike any he’s ever heard before but he’d be lying if he said there wasn’t a beauty to it. The three individuals in the middle finally join the music by humming a melody. The woman in the very middle begins singing in their own language and it’s hauntingly beautiful. 

Craig finishes his drink as he watches entranced to the musicians. At one particular upbeat song the people around him chorus in and sing along. Several people even get up and start dancing. Craig glances over at Tweek wondering if he’d be singing but the blonde is silent as he simply watches with a smile. 

Craig never imagine to find so much spirit amongst these people but it’d seem with every passing moment he’s proved wrong again and again. Before long Craig finds himself smiling and falling into the mystic energy around him. At one point Tweek gets up and gets them a refill. Eventually he’s drunk enough that when Bebe comes skipping over to Craig he actually allows her to pull him up into an odd attempt of dancing. 

Craig keeps finding himself glancing over at Tweek who watches him with lively eyes. Eventually though the music winds down and people start heading to their huts to sleep. Craig finds himself reluctant to go. He hadn’t expected himself to have fun but he had. Tweek walks Craig to his temporary home and they pause at the doorway. Craig notes that there’s no barbarian standing guard tonight. 

“I’ll admit, your people know how to party,” Craig finds himself saying just to stall. 

“Y-Yeah, they’re like that. Goodn-night Craig.”

“Night,” Craig turns and enters the hut and falls into his bed and falls asleep in minutes. 

  


The next morning Craig wakes up and is led to the nearest river by some of the younger men. He’s given soap made from animal fat and is told he can bathe now. He bathes more than eagerly and when he goes to put back on his dirty clothes he finds them gone. When he asks about it he’s told they’ve been taken to be washed by some of the women. He’s given leather pants and a fur to hang over his shoulders. 

Craig feels oddly exposed with his scarred torso on display but he figures it’s nothing new for these people who are all dressed this way. He shoves his feet back into his boots and accepts his fate. He heads back to the village where he eats breakfast with Bebe. Bebe ends up convincing him to help her with teaching the children. Craig does not comprehend why he agrees, he strongly dislikes children. In fact he’s really not good with them. He never knows how to treat them and always ends up treating kids as if they’re simpletons. This always just pisses the children off. 

Spending the better part of the first half of the day helping Bebe teach goes better than he would have expected. He mostly just has to talk to various kids as they struggle to learn the common tongue. Craig doesn’t feel as helpless as he thought he would have. When he finishes he’s left to his own devices and resigns himself to sit in the communal area as he simply watches the people around him. 

Tweek finds Craig an hour later. The blonde is wearing a wide grin and is trembling slightly. He’s barefoot and free from his furs and the extravagant necklace he usually wears. Craig raises an eyebrow at him in question. 

“N-Nice outfit,” are the first words out of the king’s mouth. An inevitable blush blossoms across Craig’s cheeks. “But d-ditch the shoes and f-furs and come with m-me.” 

“Should I ask why?” 

“It’s a s-surprise. A f-fun one,” Tweek says as he grins madly. Craig shrugs and bends down to slide his feet out of his boots. He pulls off the fur and drapes it across the table and stands. 

“Where to?” 

“F-Follow me.” 

Tweek exits the cave, followed by Craig. Tweek pauses in front of a small group of younger men. All of them are bare except for their leather pants. They converse shortly in their language and then they begin running. Craig is surprised for a few seconds and it takes him a moment to catch up with the crowd. Tweek glances over his shoulder at the noirette as he still wears his excited smile. 

They take off through the forest on a soft dirt path. The forest life is a blur around them as they run. The path winds uphill and eventually Craig realizes they’re scaling the cliff that the village is centered around. They wind past this edge of the cliff and further down until they reach the adjacent side to the cliff. It overlooks the river Craig had bathed in earlier except this area was much larger and deeper. 

Craig watches in horror as one of the barbarians runs straight to the edge and dives off into the water. Craig gasps and watches as one by one they each jump off the extremely high cliff. They all disappear until it’s just Craig and Tweek. 

“There’s no way in hell I’m jumping,” Craig bluntly states. Tweek giggles and steps up to the edge of the cliff. 

“I w-was scared too my f-first time. It’s not s-so bad. For my people i-it’s a right of passage. A badge of m-manhood.” 

Craig groans and dry washes his face. “So in other words your people are gonna think I’m a sissy if I don’t jump.” 

“M-Maybe,” Tweek says slyly. 

“Your people are insane.” 

“Courageous.” 

“Reckless,” Craig counters.

“S-Spirited.” 

Craig pauses and takes a step towards the cliff’s edge. He sees the rest of the men swimming at the bottom. They’re tiny figures at this distance. He can vaguely hear them laughing and shouting. He takes a deep breath and steels himself. When he glances over at the king he’s surprised to see a hand extended towards him. 

“W-We can jump t-together.” Craig swallows thickly and finds himself nodding. He takes the extended hand and they take several steps back. “On three, o-okay?” Tweek counts them down and on zero they take off running and vault over the edge. 

Craig felt terrified but another large part of him felt exhilarated. He felt weightless, despite gravity pulling them down wards at a rapid rate. Their hands remained locked as they fall. A laugh breaks free from Craig and he glances at the blonde in time to see him laugh as well. They only let go of each other’s hand when they hit the surface of the water. Craig swims to the surface and inhales a deep gulp of air. 

As soon as he’s up he feels men clapping his shoulders and ruffling his hair. He’s surprised by the attention. Only one of these men speak the common tongue and he tells Craig that he has the spirit. Craig looks confused by this until Tweek swims by his side and explains. 

“He m-means the spirit of our p-people. Like I s-said it’s a rite of p-passage to jump from this c-cliff. In a sense you h-haven proved yourself a m-man to my people.” Tweek’s words leave him speechless. He went from a prisoner days ago to earning the approval of these barbarians. Talk about a whirlwind of events. It all left Craig’s head spinning. 

They all swim to the shore and make the wet journey back to the village. 

  


At this point Craig has been with the barbarians for a week and a half. He hasn’t been treated like a prisoner since the day he went foraging and for that he’s grateful. He’s unsure what his standing is with these people but he has somehow found a place in the village. By day he helps Bebe teach the children. In the evenings he eats and drinks with Tweek and sometimes Bebe or an occasional other barbarian. Craig tries to remind himself he’s a prisoner here but more than anything he finds that he’s enjoying himself. 

Craig ambles through the camp and makes his way towards the elder women who give out the plates of dinner. He collects his plate and cup of yoshnir then makes his way into the communal cave. He sits at an unclaimed table and not to long later Tweek joins him with his own food and drink. 

“H-How is teaching t-the children going?” Tweek asks. 

“It’s going fine. I still hate kids but they’re not all bad.” 

“And you’re t-time here? Are y-you enjoying Ayelios?”

“As much as I can be as a prisoner,” Craig admits honestly. The noirette glances up to see Tweek staring at him with a look of utter confusion. 

“B-But you are n-no longer our p-prisoner?” 

“What are you talking about?” Craig asks confused. 

“I thought i-it was obvious a-after we started l-letting you roam a-around freely. You c-can leave whenever,” Tweek explains to him hesitantly. 

Craig groans and dry washes his face. He couldn’t believe this. For over a week he’s been a free man but he’s been wandering around playing and dressing like a barbarian because he thought he was still a prisoner.

“Oh,” Craig mutters lamely. Tweek smiles softly at him and takes a drink of yoshnir. 

“Are y-you going to leave?” 

“I should…” Craig thinks back to his home in Kuppa Keep. It’s not like he had no friends but he was cut off from his family and with his line of work he wasn’t very close to anyone. The closest person he knew was his dealer who dealt him jobs. Not to mention if he went back without the necklace that got him into this mess he’d have to deal with sir Hixon. 

“D-Do you w-want to?” Tweek asks gently. Craig ponders this question. Despite himself he was really enjoying these people. He couldn’t interact with a ton of these people due to the language barrier but they all treated him kindly. By now he’s used to the strange seasonings used on the food and actually found himself enjoying it. And most of all he had grown attached to the king for some imperceivable reason. 

“I don’t know,” Craig admits. “If I go back I’ll have to deal with my failed mission. Sir Hixon will be angry and I’ll have to pay back my commission. And I honestly don’t have a lot waiting for me back in Kuppa Keep.” 

“I h-have a proposition f-for you,” Tweek suddenly offers as he leans across the table toward Craig. Craig finds himself feeling intrigued and leans forward as well. 

“Oh?”

“A j-job. You s-see, two y-years ago a villager b-by the name of Thomas s-stole something very valuable from us. It is what we c-call the life crystal. It’s b-been passed down b-between our people for g-generations. It’s a v-very spiritual item f-for us. T-Thomas stole the crystal a-and fled from the village. If y-you can get that crystal b-back we’ll pay you e-eighty gold pieces and I’ll give you the n-necklace so you can return i-it to sir Hixon,” Tweek temptingly explained. 

Craig frowned. The offer felt to good to be true. 

“You’d do all that for some crystal?”

“L-Like I said, it’s a v-very important item f-for my people.” 

“And how will I know who this Thomas guy is? What he looks like?” Craig quizzically asks. Finding the barbarian king was easy enough, his reputation made him an easy target. But some nobody was going to be a lot harder to trace down. 

“T-That’s easy. I’ll g-go with you.”

“What about your people? Can you really leave them?” 

“It’s n-not for forever. M-My people will u-understand. I’ve h-had to temporarily l-leave them before. They c-can manage,” Tweek points out with a lazy shrug. He takes another drink then glances up at Craig with a brilliant smile. “S-So what do you t-think?” 

Craig ponders this for a moment but there’s really not much to think about. 

“I think you got yourself a deal Tweek.” 


End file.
